Pope FactoryPope Factory (Pope Factory)By: Alex SteiningerWelland, Ontario's four-piece Pope Factory play psychedelic indie rock; the music is often enjoyable, with a fuzzy, dreamy quality to it, complete with an indie rock bite. However, the vocals are windy and drawn out, stretching past their boundaries and fogging up the music. They turn clear water into mud. The songs start out with momentum but are soon clouded up and lose all hope for recovery.

"Channeling Ring" has a fuzzy, warm background effect but can't keep it together with the vocals while "Smug" sprinkles down distorted guitars along side a steady flow of tight drumming and powerful bass work. However, neither songs, nor the rest of the six songs on this album, have the fire or spark to really make you pay attention. Each and every one of them fade into the background one they're finished.

The band could use some time to work things out, re-arrange and piece the music together a bit more, and solidify as a band. If they stick it out and really give it their all, who knows? One thing I really do love about this disc though is the innovative design of the packaging; the CD cover folds out to open like a matchbox and inside you find the CD. It fits perfectly with the matchbox graphics surrounding it. Quite clever, though the music isn't. I'll give this a C-.